The Power of Positive Thinking

As I begin, I’ll be honest from the start. I’m not always Mr. Happy Pants. I’m not always a positive ball of energy. Like you, I have days when things build up and get me down.

When stress enters the picture, we have to deal with issues we don’t like. It’s normal. It happens.

A few years ago, I lived in daily stress. It was a struggle just to get through the day. I would focus on the negatives, like my job. I hated my job. I hated my car, my living arrangements, and the state of my then marriage. Many nights I went to bed angry and stressed, which would lead to another day of stress, leaving me angrier than the night before.

 
It was a destructive cycle, one that affected my health. I had heartburn, headaches. My nerves were a wreck, and I was not only overweight, but I was a heart attack waiting to happen.

Never once did I stop to think about the good in my life—and there was some--but instead of finding the good, I would get upset, mostly at other people for being happy. I wanted what they had but could see no way for happiness to find me.

At the time, I was living in Ocean City MD, the happy family and tourist capital of Maryland. I’d watch them enjoy the sun and the ocean, laughing and smiling, partaking in the boardwalk fun. They weren’t six hundred pounds, like me.

Why do they get to be happy? Why are they enjoying the pretty blue ocean, when I can’t even fit into a bathing suit? Shoot, forget swimming, I can't even walk.

I was morbidly obese! And I was pissed.

The more I focused on these negatives, the further I sunk into a state of depression. And having spent years there, I can attest to many things, like negativity brews Anger. Anger leads to resentment. Resentment leads to envy. Envy leads to a feeling of entitlement, a feeling of being left behind, which leads back to anger and more hopelessness.

Hopelessness walks hand in hand with depression.

You see, that’s the way it works; the law of attraction. We attract the same energy we’re living back into our lives. I could find no joy, no peace, because I failed to see the beautiful things around me. In stead, I choose to focus on the bad.

Why didn’t I see the beautiful sun shinning? I could feel it on my skin. Why couldn’t I hear the beautiful bird singing outside my window? I never took time to sit and admired the beauty around me. I never thought about sunsets, or the magic that happens when the ocean meets the sky.

It took giving up on me, and almost dying, before I realized how much I wanted to live.  It took understanding how important the little things in life really were, like being able to ride a bike or walk the boardwalk like a normal man. It took understanding that I did want to live. I wanted to love and find happiness, and soon that revelation lead to thankfulness. I began to thank God for what I did have—friends who loved me, a family who cared and would always be there for me--and it was inside those positives that I found the key to changing my heart. 

You see, the positives helped me to see the good in the world. It lifted the clouds and allowed me to feel the warm summer breeze, the cool rain falling after a hot august day. The more I realized I was alive, the more I wanted to live. The more positive I became, the more success I found.  And it's happening even today.

Will change happen over night? No. But it can’t start until you take that first step.

As I stated from the start, I still have days when life throws me a curve. I don’t dwell on the injustice of it all. I don’t ask, why me? I refocus on the good, the positive. I don't let politics upset me. A losing game, depressing news, and or negative gossip, don't rattle my cage. I ignore it all. I've lived in a negative place for long enough and it led me to hate. I hated life, people, the world, and finally, God and me. It led me to 625 pounds, to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and very nearly death.

Since changing my focus to the good and positive, I have found purpose and direction. I challenge you to do the same. Start to focus more on the things you have, rather than the things you don’t. Focus on the good people in your life, the sunshine and the blue sky. Wake up everyday and strive to find something good, something positive, and I promise you, your life will change for the better.

We can all find something to be grateful for. If you’re reading this Blog right now, you have eyes to see and a mind that allows you to read. You have a heart that beats. It’s not hard to realize what we all have--choice. We have the power. We make the choice, whether to dwell on the bad or the good. It's all up to us.

Will you still have days when life can be tough? ABSOLUTELY! But you keep going, keep focusing on the positive. When you’re in a bad place, feeling angry or depressed, refocus. Get your head in to a better place. Think of a happy event, a song, or a funny story. All you have to do is look around you and change your thinking.

I've said it before, "Positive thoughts bring positive results."

Give it a try and you’ll understand what this formerly 625 pound, severely depressed, and half dead man was talking about.

Life is precious, life is special. It’s beautiful and so are you.

PEACE

Dan